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- y 2 Sheets Sheet 1. L. C. NORTONKZ J. A. SEIEI'KJVIAIV. METHOD OFAUTOMATICALLY OPERATING DOORS AND GATES.

(No Model.)

Patented Feb. .5, 1884.

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N. PETERS. PlmmLillmgmphur. Wnflhing (No Moda 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. L.CQNORTON & J A. SHERMAN. METHOD OI AUT OMATIGALLYOPERATING DOORS ANDGATES. No. 292,845.

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UNiTEo STATES PATENT .Orricn.

LEVIS O. NORTON AND JOHN A. SHERMAN, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS;

SAID SHERMAN ASSIGNOR TO SAID NORTON.

"METHOD OF AUTOMATICALLY OPERATING DOORS AND GATES.

SPECIFICATION formin g To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, LEWIS C. NORTON and JOHN A. SHERMAN, both ofBoston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented a new and useful Mechanism for Automatically Operating Doorsand Gates, of which the following is aspecification.

Our invention is especially adapted for use in operating the outer.doors of fire-engine houses, stables, and the like. It is verydesirable, for example, that when a fireengine is about to respond to analarm of fire there should be as little delay as possible in leaving theengine-house. Heretofore ithasbeen necessary for the doors of the houseto be opened and held open by a man detailed for the purpose, who, ifhis services were to be needed at the fire, must either get thereas'best he can or be carried by the engine, which must wait until thehouse-doors are locked before. being able to pick him up and go on.

Our invention consists, chiefiy,in a combination of mechanismsubstantially like that described below for automatically operating thedoors, whereby after they have been unlocked they will be opened, heldopen a sufficiently long time to allow the engine, 810., to passthrough, and then permitted to close. The mechanism requisite toaccomplish this result is as follows: first, a weight or spring by meansof which the door may be thrown open second, a latch to which the weightor spring is attached at one end, and means whereby the latch willrelease the weight or spring after a given time, has elapsed, third,ineans for closing the door when the weight or spring has been'released.It is also desirable to have a suitable latch to lock the doorautomatically, which must be operated before the above-describedmechanism will work.

' Our invention may be practiced in a variety of ways and by means of avariety of kinds of mechanism, in which springs and weights may beinterchangeably used to open and close the door, suitable connectionsbeing used with each, and springs, air-cushions, or time mechanism ofsome sort be used to' free the. door at the proper time from the poweropening it. The simplest combination of mechanism for attaining theresult now known to us is shown in the drawings, in whichof anair-compressing deviceby us. very slight alteration the buffer may ofcourse part of Letters Patent No. 292,845, dated February 5, 1884.Application filed January 5,1883. (No model.)

Figure 1 shows an elevation of a pair of doors adapted to be operated inthe desired way. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on the line of the topof the doors in Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is a detail, -showing mechanism forreleasing the opening mechanism at any desired time after the door hasbeen opened.

A-A are doors hinged to the frame B, as shown. To the upper part of eachdoor is attached a suitable buffer, D, adapted, if properly set,to yieldslowly to any pressure brought to bear upon it, and after a propertimeto op-- erate the latch E, so as to free the hinged pin F. Theweightor spring for opening the door is attached by means of a ring, G, to thepin F, so that when the latch is operated the pin will disengage theweight, and the door will then be allowed to close by a spring, H,provided for the purpose. The spring shown is used in connection with adoor-check like that described in Letters Patent No. 251,790, this beingthe best known for the purpose. The buffer shown is adapted to operateby means of compressed air, and it consists of a cylinder in which worksa piston, d, packed air-tight in the cylinder. The cylinder-head d isprovided with a hole, d, partly filled with a slot ted screw, by turningwhich the size of the hole is regulated. It is best also to provide avalve, by means of which, when the piston is drawn out so as to set thebuffer in the position shown in the drawings, air may be allowed to flowfreely into the air-chamber in front of the piston. for our purpose,though not of our joint invention, nor used for the first time in thepiston be adapted to operate by means of aliquid instead of air.

J is a latch for automatically locking the door when it shuts.

A detailed description of the operation of our invention embodied asdescribed is as follows: When it is desired to open the doors, theapparatus being in the position shown in the drawings, the cord j,attached to the latch J, is pulled. The doors will open rapidly by meansof the weights attached to the rings G until the knobs d of the buffersD strike the wall at (2*. Each buffer yields but slowly to the The valveshown is the simplest Bya force of the weight, (owing to the smallnessof the vent (1 by which alone air can escape from in front of thepiston,) and finally the crosspin (1", attached to butter-rod d, strikesthe latch E, when the pin F is dropped, and letting go the weight allowsthe doors to be closed by means of the spring H and latched by the latchJ, ready to be operated again when the weights have been reattached tothe doors and the butters rearranged. In case the doors should shut oneover the other, as is generally the case, (see Fig. 2,) the buffersshould of course be so timed as to release first the door which shouldshut first. If desired, a. spring should be used to throw the butteragain into its normal position shown in the drawin It is best also toprovide suitable springs for the latch E and pin F, in order that theymay be normally in the position shown in Fig. 3.

In opening a door we have found it desirable to applya greater force instarting the door than is necessary during the latter part of itsmotion. One mode of applying such increased force will be seen in Fig. lof the drawings, where K is the floorot' thehouse, below which issuitably suspended the hinged arm L, weight ed near its outer end andadapted to rest upon the weight M,which is attached to the ring G bymeans of the cord r N is a stop to prevent the arm L from following theweight 11 below a certain point. It wiil be seen that when either dooris unlatehed both weights will act upon it until the weighted arm Lstrikes the stop, after which time the weight M alone will act upon thedoor.

Instead ofthe arm L, a spring may be used, which shall be compresseduntil the weighthas dropped a certain distance; or, instead of thisarrangement, a double spring may be so arranged that both will bear uponand operate the door until the door has moved a certain distance; butthe simplest way of attaining our desired result is that abovedescribed.

If desired, the butter may be attached to the door-frame instead of thedoor; but in any case the parts will be substantially the same. It isapparent, too, thatthe opening-weight must have suliicient force toovercome the spring 11', either by its actual weight or that acquired byleverage resulting from its method of attachment to the door. The weightof the arm L must depend in size upon the kind of spring used to closethe door and the various conditions under which the door is hung. It isbest, therefore, to make this weightso that it may be varied atpleasure.

\Vhat we claim as our invention is 1. In a door-operating device, thecombination,with a door and a suitable stop or wall,

of a weight suitably attached to the door, whereby it may be opened, anda releasing mechanism substantially like that above dcscribed,wherebythe said weight at the proper time will be detached from the door, allas and for the purposes set forth.

2. In a door-operating device, the combination of suitable mechanism foropening the door, means whereby such mechanism may be attached to thedoor, and a buffer adapted to yield slowly to any pressure brought tobear upon it, and at the proper time to operate the attaching mechanismand disconnect the door and opening mechanism, substantially as setforth.

3. The releasing mechanism above described, consisting of a butterprovided with a suitable stop, (1", adapted to engage with and operatethe latch E, as and for the purposes set forth.

at. In combination with a door, mechanism, substantially as abovedescribed, whereby an extra force is applied to the door to overcome itsfirst inertia, for the purposes set forth.

5. In a door-operating device, the hinged weighted arm L and its stop N,in combination with the weight M and suitable means for attachment tothe door, substantially as described.

(S. In a, door-operating device, the combination of a suitable weightfor openingthe door, the butter 1) and its releasing-latch, and asuitable weight or spring for closing the door, substantially as setforth.

LEW'IS G. NORTON. JOIIX A. SHERMAN.

In presence oi- GEORGE O. G. COALl-J. Jn. F. Bmon.

